WHEELING, WV, Sept. 17, 2009 — Living History performer Ilene Evans, received the Foundation of Freedom Award from Wheeling Jesuit University Interim President Davitt McAteer today at the annual Constitution Day celebration. The celebration took place in the Discovery Center, located in the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies® and is held at the university every September to mark the signing of the United States Consitution in 1787.

Evans portrayed American hero and runaway slave Harriet Tubman and was part of a program presented to campus employees, local students and the public. Voices From the Earth, Inc. and the West Virginia Humanities Council sponsored her performance.

Chief Judge John Preston Bailey, United States District Court Northern District of West Virginia addressed the crowd as the keynote speaker and described his journey to the federal bench. He explained about the role of the judiciary in the Constitution and also answered questions from the audience.

A virtual field trip to Philadelphia was narrated by Melissa Brown, who works with Evans presenting Living History to groups around the state and beyond.

It was the university's fifth annual Constitution Day observance. Congressional legislation proposed by U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia was enacted into law in 2004 designating Sept. 17 each year as Constitution & Citizenship Day. This date was selected for observation because the Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787. The day also focuses on the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens, both native-born and naturalized.

Wheeling Jesuit University and its Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies, named in honor of Sen. Robert Byrd's late wife, have been instrumental in integrating technology in classrooms throughout the United States and many of these promote good citizenship and the Constitution.